Another: Clay's still needs a car

[Xyster101]

So I am selling my MR2 and want to replace it with something a little newer. I also have never had a car with over 240hp (MR2).

Goals:

drive at the track, doing Time Trial

Maybe parking lot racing

Spirited driving/Daily

Wife should enjoy it too

$15k budget. Just bought a new truck, brz, house, and am moving to NY.

 

Selling MR2 because:

no support in terms of advice or setup (no one has one which I do love/hate)

Hard to drive at the track. Slow spool turbo, gas is "on" or "off"

Sucks on the street as a daily(full exhaust to spool turbo faster, urthane motor mounts)

Wife used to like it, until I put exhaust and motor mounts on it

Starting to over heat at the track, don't want to put money into better cooling

22 years old

 

Thinking about:

 

C5 :fuckyeah:

Race car out of the box. Fast. Z06 ones are over $15k. Everyone with a small penis has a corvette. Wife hates them, but I don't really care about that. What is maintenance like? Specifcally tires, brakes, rotors as they go quick at the track? Are the 96-03 models good (pre Z06) as they are cheap?

Miata :fa:

Cheap, cheap, cheap. Fast in the turns. Takes a nap on the straights. I am 6'5" and don't fit into them without a race seat bolted to the floor. I need to wear a dress if I drive one. Brakes and tires are cheap. Lots of support

350z

Best of both worlds. Hard to drive at the limit. Are parts expensive? Heavy

S2000 :masturboy:

Honda reliable. I don't fit in these without a seat bolted to the floor. Parts are cheap. Decent support

E36 M3

Older car. Handle great. BMW parts are expensive and require weird tools. Reliable and European don't go in the same sentence. Would have the same car as DasBorgen (Con) :fuuuu:

[Tripleskate]

I have only driven the Miata, Z-car, and the S2000, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

With the Mazda or the Honda, you will have to budget about $1000 for a proper roll bar if you want to go racing, and depending on the application, you may lose some DD-friendliness. Much like you, I didn't fit in the S2K worth a damn, so new seat rails, or racing seat would be 100% necessary (and the stupid, non-adjustable steering wheel). Beyond that, both are pretty solid little racers in terms of durability. However, earlier AP1 cars tends to be oil burners at high RPM...

The Z is the big girl of the batch, but can fit so much more tire front and rear than the other two that it's pretty easily compensated for. Ideally, you would be looking at 08+ w/ the limited slip diff, because of the beefed up engine and trans, but $15k leaves that just out of budget I think. For any 350/70Z, brake ducting, and various coolers are pretty much necessary to get consistent performance out of it. Go figure, big engine + small engine bay = heat. Also, it was definitely the best car for daily driving, I drove an 08 Touring(?) and the extra torque compared to the S2K/Miata was immense, and it had excellent gears for cruising, and good overall street manners.

[Cordell]

While I love the Miata, you being taller then me I'd say C5. If you can find one in decent shape, adding a few well chosen bolt-ons like headers/exhaust, and shocks/springs and sway bars will get you past the C5Z. This will likely be my next car in years to come, LS power with great handling just can't be beaten for me. The drawback is that Corvette specific parts tend to have the Corvette tax added, but the savvy car guy can do well with take off parts from better models like the C5 or C6 Z06 as just about everything interchanges just like Miatas.

 

C5

Race car out of the box. Fast. Z06 ones are over $15k. Everyone with a small penis has a corvette. Wife hates them, but I don't really care about that. What is maintenance like? Specifcally tires, brakes, rotors as they go quick at the track? Are the 96-03 models good (pre Z06) as they are cheap?

Well the C5 started in 97 and shares most of its chassis with the 2013 C6, while there are obvious differences in the lighter weight C6 Z06/ZR1 (mostly material use in construction of the chassis). The cars design makes the parts very interchangeable. The shocks, springs, sway bars, brakes, ect will all swap. Find some rich guy putting all kinds of shit on his C6 Z06 and you'll be the one profiting.

 

 

Otherwise just reading your thread title I was thinking Miata or S2000, and having drivin both I really think they do great. The Miata is about crap without some more power like a turbo or something. Obviously you don't fit in these well, and that would prevent me. Race seats are great, but I don't like riding in them all the time and for me the car needs to be enjoyable on and off the track.

[pontiacfreak142]

Id go vette. Performance wise, they have s 350 hp ls1, which id good for a low 13/ high 12 1/4 mile car (meaning plenty of go for the straits). They are pretty damn reliable and being ls powered, parts are plentiful and fairly cheap.

[POS VETT]

Let's get some facts straight.

 

C5

Z06 started in '1 model year & ended as '4 model year. There were "FRC" models produced as '99 & '0 model years powered by 350hp LS1 engine. Parts are cheaper, mods are plentiful, and support is massive. If you think Miata has a solid support, wait till you delve into C5 knowledge.

 

Miata & S2000

You got most info correct.

 

350Z

It's not as heavy as you thought. It's heavier by a C5Z06 by a few tens of pounds, but lighter than a C5 coupe and 'vert. It's roughly the same weight as my C6Z06. Think of it as a depowered Corvette. Its driving dynamics is lively yet not lively as an M3. It slides beautifully, much better than any of my other cars and yet it has the lowest torque rating among them. Support is okay and mods seem expensive due to the boutique-inclined Japanese brand names.

 

E36M3

Nice chassis and engine is willing. It's still a favorite of mine for daily driving. The complexity and some of the logic applied to the car left me scratching my head at times. Specimens are quite old by now, so expect the usual maintenance items and a bit beyond. Retrofit and updates are useful at times. No special tool was needed in my 9 years of ownership.

[Geeesammy]

If I was in the market with that to spend I'd go with a C5 no doubt.

You have the most power out of the group, most all around potential IMO, along with DAT LOOK of the C5's. You can find performance parts fairly cheap for them now as well. I'm a big guy (6'6" 265lbs) and fit pretty comfortably in a C5's when I've driven them. As Cordell said, many parts are interchangeable and can be had for a reasonable price.

[-Alex-]

Another vote for C5. They're cheap on insurance and get awesome gas mileage for the performance. I regularly saw 30 mpg or better on the highway.

 

You can find an '01 Z06 for $15k. I paid $16.5k for mine a couple years ago, '01 with 73k clean title, had a cam, longtubes, RPM level 4 trans, CCW Classics on brand new Kuhmo Ecsta XS tires and some other goodies. It wasn't an average price by any means, but they're out there. However, I would suggest finding a 99-00 FRC instead. They can be found for 10-12k fairly easily, has the same hardtop body as the Z06, but then you could put that extra money towards aftermarket suspension and seats or whatever to improve it over a stock Z06.

[Crossle]

Sadface.

[Dr. Pomade]

I loved the OP - chuckled more than once.

 

My vote would be for a C5. Although you will have a small penis, girls will want to be on top of it.

[Xyster101]

Talked to the old battle axe last night. C5is not out of the picture. I think I'm going to Try this route. I do need top check my finances though. After w close in a house next month I need to add a out building/garage. Thinking a four car with a little room for a small workshop in the back. I have no idea what that will cost. It will be heard with water but only a gray water drain. I was mentally thinking 20k

 

Are tired and brakes expensive for aC5?

[Not Brian]

Like any sports car I imagine (with zero research) the life cycle of a used C5 looks something like this:

 

1.) Rich dude A buys one new and babies it

2.) Sells a few years later for newer model

3.) Dude B slays women left and right with it, occasional track day, still takes good care of it

4.) One of said women wiggle her way into a wedding ring and wants the vette gone

6.) Dude B says okay.jpg and sells for cheap to Dude C who beats on it

7.) Dude C gets a repair bill over $1k so he sells it to carmax

8.) I forgot 5.)

9.) Average Joe wanders through this price range

[POS VETT]

Brakes are inexpensive with a C5 and it comes with a stout braking system stock. There are always improvements to be made to the stock system which already come with nearly 13" rotors and cooling air ducts. The Z06 adds cooling ducts for the rear brakes.

 

Track tires are inexpensive if you know where to find scrubs. Otherwise, due to its capability of taking monstrous sizes, the average price will be higher than those for your old MR2. The C5 is also capable of wearing out its tires quickly when driven near or at 10/10.

 

If it sees road course duties, be prepared to fit an engine oil reserve canister such as AccuSump. The oil pan is wide and shallow and pulling high lateral accelerations around a long sweeper will slosh the oil and starve the engine. You may also see other things associated with a car like this, fluids that were okay in your old MR2 may become an issue. Everything heats up quicker and higher.

 

One thing to watch out about suspension is its tendency to extrude control arm bushings under track conditions. Slicks and great brakes create a large enough torque exerting on the suspension arms and eventually walk the arms off. The front lower arms will do this first.

[Xyster101]

Is there a remedy for those control arm bushings? Or just replace them every season? Also speed worries me at the track. Average speeds if a miata or E36 are lets say 89 and a corvette was 102. That is a lot faster to hit a tire wall.

Brakes on the mr2 were 400 for race pads,all 4,what is a vette?

As for heat, mr2 had great cooling. Does the vette need an aftermarket radiator or:megusta: oil cooler? Not the end of the world to add those.

[POS VETT]

There are always remedies for anything; the bushings can be replaced with heim joints that places like Pfadt Engineering sells.

 

I have no idea how much a set of race pads cost for a C5; I suppose that piece of information can be looked up easily.

 

As long as the radiator fins are kept clean, there shouldn't be any problem with cooling. Engine oil cooler can always be added for added protection. I believe it also depends on how the car is driven. If you are "afraid" of speed, then engine oil temperature may not be an issue.

[Ry_Trapp01647545522]

S2000 :masturboy:

Honda reliable.

sure they are, till the engine lets go:no:

[Xyster101]

sure they are, till the engine lets go:no:

 

I would like some more information on this comment. I don't know much about any of these vehicles. So any first hand information please share.

[Ry_Trapp01647545522]

I would like some more information on this comment. I don't know much about any of these vehicles. So any first hand information please share.

i don't have any first hand experience with them, but i was researching S2000s a few years back and stock engine failures aren't exactly uncommon. failures seem to happen at any mileage too, from 10,000 to 100,000.

https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=s2000+engine+failure&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest#client=opera&hs=ZEk&rls=en&channel=suggest&sclient=psy-ab&q=s2000+engine+failure+site:s2ki.com&oq=s2000+engine+failure+site:s2ki.com&gs_l=serp.3...3040.6667.0.6940.14.13.0.0.0.0.303.2040.4j5j3j1.13.0...0.0...1c.1.14.psy-ab.elqyB6vlrqM&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47008514,d.aWc&fp=bdc46d2f51ca3017&biw=1920&bih=958

https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=s2000+engine+failure&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest#client=opera&rls=en&channel=suggest&sclient=psy-ab&q=s2000+engine+failure+site:s2000.com&oq=s2000+engine+failure+site:s2000.com&gs_l=serp.3...723381.727536.1.727625.17.10.6.0.0.1.419.1509.4j2j2j0j1.9.0...0.0...1c.1.14.psy-ab.SbRhgWHoRoA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47008514,d.aWc&fp=bdc46d2f51ca3017&biw=1920&bih=958

[greg1647545532]

How well would you fit in an Integra Type R?

[El Karacho1647545492]

Sell BRZ, sell MR2, buy NSX.

[Xyster101]

How well would you fit in an Integra Type R?

 

Appreciate the thought, but that is not a sports car imo. Anything FWD to me is just a DD. Fwd makes the front tires do all the work, accerlerating, braking, steering, and that leads to problems at the track and less fun overall.

[Xyster101]

Sell BRZ, sell MR2, buy NSX.

 

Already sold the MR2 for 4300. I don't want a new car for the track. I am afraid to take the BRZ to the track as it is. Plus I was something that has support, mr2 had very little support.

[greg1647545532]

Appreciate the thought, but that is not a sports car imo. Anything FWD to me is just a DD. Fwd makes the front tires do all the work, accerlerating, braking, steering, and that leads to problems at the track and less fun overall.

 

Always disappointing to hear someone reject a great car for dubious reasons, but to each their own.

[zeitgeist57]

Hey, Max...I would definitely get a C5. Hands down, the easiest to make go fast or REALLY fast and the aftermarket support is ridonk.

 

Don't even bother with the Z06: get a coupe so you can enjoy the targa top, and do some light performance bolt-ons.

 

Sad to hear the Mr. Two is gone...your bish-a$$ leaving OH was painful enough.

[Ry_Trapp01647545522]

i say just get a fox body or SN95 - the most aftermarket support out there, parts are cheap as dirt and can be picked up used all day long, and you can make it as streetable or extreme as you would ever like.

[Das Borgen]

you have 2 good friends with E36 M3s...you know how good value they are....Parts aren't as ridiculous as ou make them out to be also